41 Years Ago: Willie Nelson Releases 'Red Headed Stranger' REDDIT Columbia Records When Willie Nelson recorded Red Headed Stranger in 1975, his record label thought it was too difficult a listening experience to succeed. But the album — released 41 years ago this month — was a commercial and critical smash, and has gone on to become one of the keystone albums in the history of country music. Nelson had already experienced significant success prior to signing with Columbia Records, and that allowed him to bargain for complete creative control of his work for the label. Nelson conceptualized the themes that would become Red Headed Stranger during a car ride from Colorado to his home in Austin, and recorded a demo of the resulting songs at his ranch. “I started out with the song “Red Headed Stranger” itself, a song that I didn’t write but I used to sing when I was a disc jockey many years ago,” Nelson recalled in 2000. “So, when I had the chance to do an album with CBS, what was almost unheard of in those days was artistic control. I had to stop and think of what I wanted to do.

I took the Red Headed Stranger album and thought, “I’ll write a concept album about what happened up until that song started, and then what happened after the end of it.” The new work turned into a dark, thematic album about a man who murders his unfaithful wife and her lover and goes on the run, weaving Nelson’s own compositions with classic songs and bits of narration to create one of country music’s first true concept albums. Hoping to avoid the slick commercial production that had characterized much of his work in Nashville, Nelson recorded his new album at a studio in Garland, Texas, using his own band instead of Nashville session players. He produced the album himself, and the result was a bold step in a strikingly different direction from anything else that was going on in country music at the time. Not only was the new music intellectually challenging, it had nothing in common sonically with the lush, string-laden sound that had lately dominated radio. When he played the album for his new label, they were hesitant to release it. “Well, yeah. They’d never heard anything, probably, that sparse turned in as a session,” Nelson admits with a laugh.

“They thought it needed a little … you know, maybe it sounded pretty good as a demo, but I couldn’t be serious about it being a finished product.” But Nelson, citing his deal, insisted that the album be released as recorded, and Columbia reluctantly complied. Released in May of 1975, Red Headed Stranger became a runaway hit, landing at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Country Albums chart and eventually selling more than 2 million copies. Nelson’s sparse, mournful recording of Fred Rose’s 1947 standard “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” reached No. 1, and the album’s other single, “Remember Me,” reached No. 2.

Critical reception was equally enthusiastic: Texas Monthly called the record “an album so remarkable that it calls for a redefinition of the term ‘country music’ … the world that Nelson has created is so seductive that you want to linger there indefinitely.” Mother Jones said, “Texans have known for 15 years what Red Headed Stranger finally revealed to the world; that Nelson is simply too brilliant a songwriter, interpreter and singer — just too damn universal — to be defined as merely a country artist.” The album launched Nelson into the vanguard of the growing “outlaw” movement in country music and simultaneously made him one of country music’s biggest-selling stars. He would go on to star in a movie based on the album; Red Headed Stranger has also received numerous accolades in the decades since its release. Rolling Stone places Red Headed Stranger at No. 183 on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, and CMT places it at No. 1 on their 40 Greatest Albums in Country Music list.

In 2009, the album was adopted into the National Recording Registry , which recognizes work that is “culturally, historically or aesthetically important, and / or informs or reflects life in the United States.” Country Stars Who Have Served in the Military Image of Red Headed Stranger - 必应 4 min · 345,308 views 2011-8-7 · Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger The red-headed stranger from Blue Rock, Montana Rode into town one day; And under his knees was a raging black stallion 歌词 The red headed stranger from Blue Rock Montana Rode into town one day And under his knees was a raging black stallion Walking behind was a bay The ... Red Headed Stranger的乐评 · · · · · · (全部 0 条) 第一个在"Red Headed Stranger"的论坛里发言 豆瓣成员常用的标签(共44个) · · · · · · country WillieNelson 美国 ...

Red Headed Stranger电影简介和剧情介绍,Red Headed Stranger 影评、图片、预告片、影讯、论坛、在线购票 登录 注册 下载豆瓣客户端 豆瓣 我们的精神角落 扫码直接 · ... Red Headed Stranger is a 1986 American western drama film written and directed by William D. Wittliff. The film stars Willie Nelson and Morgan Fairchild. Red Headed Stranger 作者名称：Willie Nelson 发行国家：欧美国家 发行时间：2000-08-14 发行公司：Columbia 歌曲条目：19首 简介信息：暂无 the red headed stranger (live version) - willie nelson the red headed stranger from blue rock montana rode into town one day and under his knees was a raging black stallion 《Red Headed Stranger》演唱者Chris LeDoux，所属专辑《Used to Want to Be a Cowboy》；免费在线试听Red Headed Stranger,MP3下载、Red Headed ...

Willie Nelson - Biography - IMDb Willie Nelson Biography Showing all 48 items Jump to: Overview (4) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (4) | Trade Mark (5) | Trivia (29) | Personal Quotes (5) Overview (4) 5' 6" (1.68 m) Mini Bio (1) This versatile, eclectic, rather wanderlust country crossover star known for his classic ballads ("Always On My Mind"), autobiographical road songs ("On the Road Again") and catchy rhythms ("Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys") started out life as Willie Hugh Nelson on April 30, 1933, in Depression-era Abbot, Texas. He is the son of Myrle Marie (Greenhaw) and Ira Doyle Nelson, a mechanic. After his mother abandoned the family and his father died, he and sister Bobbie Lee were raised by their gospel-singing grandparents. Working in the cotton fields, Willie was handed his first guitar at age six and within a short time was writing woeful country songs and playing in polka bands. During his teenage years he played at high school dances and honky-tonks.

He also worked for a local radio station and by graduation time he had become a DJ with his own radio show. Briefly serving a stint with the Air Force (discharged because of a bad back, which would plague him throughout his life), he sold his first song called "No Place For Me" while getting by with menial jobs as a janitor and door-to-door Bible salesman. Married in 1952 to a full-blooded Cherokee, he and first wife Martha had two children. He initially came to be known in Nashville for selling his songs to well-established country artists such as Patsy Cline ("Crazy"), Faron Young ("Hello Walls") and Ray Price ("Night Life"). In 1962 he recorded a successful duet with singer Shirley Collie, whom he would later take as his second wife, but his career didn't progress despite joining the Grand 'Ol Opry. In the early 1970s, after extensive touring with his band (which included sister Bobbie on the piano) and experiencing a number of career downswings, he started performing and recording his own songs instead of selling them to others.

Two of his albums, "Shotgun Willie" and "Phases and Stages", helped him gain some stature. In 1975 it all came together with the album "Red-Headed Stranger", which would become the top-selling country music album in history and propel him into the country music stratosphere. His offbeat phrasing, distinctive nasal tones and leathery, bewhiskered hippie-styled looks set a new standard for "outlaw" country music. Around 1978 Willie showed himself to be a loose and natural presence in front of the camera, thus launching a film career. He had roles in several movies, his first opposite Robert Redford and Jane Fonda in The Electric Horseman (1979). His took to leading roles as a country music star in Honeysuckle Rose (1980), which would include a number of his songs on the soundtrack. He played opposite James Caan and Tuesday Weld in Thief (1981) and a legendary outlaw in the western Barbarosa (1982).

In the movie Red Headed Stranger (1986), which was adapted from his hit 1975 album, he played a preacher, and he teamed up with pal Kris Kristofferson as a pair of country singers in Songwriter (1984). He and pal Kristofferson went on to form The Highwaymen with the late Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings and he successfully recorded and toured with the group for a number of years. They also teamed up to remake the classic western Stagecoach (1939) as a TV movie ( Stagecoach (1986)). As a unique song stylist, the bearded, braided-haired, bandanna-wearing non-conformist took a number of non-country standards and made them his own, including Elvis Presley 's "You Were Always on My Mind" and Ray Charles ' "Georgia on My Mind." He happily married fourth wife Ann-Marie in 1991 and has survived more hard times in recent years, including a $16.7-million debt to the IRS and the suicide of one of his sons, Billy.

Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993, Nelson received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1998. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net Spouse (4) ( 27 October 1952 - 1960) (divorced) (3 children) Trade Mark (5) Long red hair (usually braided into a ponytail) More often than not sports a beard Often wears a Cowboy hat or a Bandana Slow clipped manner of singing Texas accent Trivia (29) His character Billy "Catch" Pooler in the comedy movie Gone Fishin' (1997) was inspired by a real person, Loren "Totch" Brown of Chokoloskee, Florida. "Totch" had a small role in the movie Wind Across the Everglades (1958), portraying "One-Note" and acting under the name Totch Brown . In addition to being a successful country singer, he is also a songwriter and wrote hits for many other singers, including "Crazy" for Patsy Cline .

He was a member of Ray Price 's Cherokee Cowboys during the 1950s. Attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas for one year. Toby Keith asked if he wanted to record a duet with him. Willie agreed after simply hearing the title of the song without even reading the lyrics: "Whiskey for My Men, Beer for My Horses". Is one of the three "outlaws" of country music, named because of their wild personalities, free spirits and liberal politics. The other two are Merle Haggard and the late Waylon Jennings . There is a guest character named after him in an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2000) (titled "The Shaving"). Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993 and the American Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001. When the IRS seized his possessions to sell at auction to try and collect money to pay his tax debt, many of Willie's fans bought his stuff and then gave it back to him. (It's been said that the fans did this as a way of saying thank you for all the free concerts Nelson performed in support of Farm Aid).

The only major possessions not seized by the IRS was Willie's guitar and his tour bus so he could earn a living. He was the subject of the Toby Keith song "I'll Never Smoke Weed with Willie Again". Formed the 1980s country music supergroup "The Highwaymen" with Waylon Jennings , Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson . Inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame in Austin, Texas in March 2002. Son of Myrtle Greenhaw and Ira Nelson.

Children: Lana Nelson (born November 11, 1953), Susie (born May 23, 1956) and Billy (born September 16, 1958 who died in 1991), with Martha Matthews; Paula Nelson (Paula Carlene) (born October 27, 1969) and Amy Nelson (Amy Lee) (born July 6, 1973), with Connie Koepke; Lukas Nelson (Lukas Autry) (born December 25, 1988) and Micah Nelson (Jacob Micah) (born May 24, 1990), with Annie D'Angelo . Was raised by his paternal grandparents: William Alfred Nelson and Nancy Elizabeth Smothers. His company, Willie Nelson Biodiesel, markets biodiesel biofuel to truck stops. Was considered for the role of Red Webster in Road House (1989), which went to Red West . Father of Lukas Nelson and Micah Nelson from his marriage to Annie D'Angelo .

Owns a selection of about 15 guitars, but the one he plays mostly on tour, is his Martin acoustic which he refers to as "Trigger", named after Roy Rogers 's horse. In 1985, Willie had done a duet with Ray Charles called "Seven Spanish Angels". It was on the Billboard Country Hit Chart for twelve weeks, with one week as No. 1. Red Headed Stranger by Willie Nelson on Apple Music 15 Songs iTunes Review Bucking the rhinestone-studded trends of mid-‘70s Nashville, Nelson’s sparsely arranged conceptual masterpiece—the tale of preacher on the run for murdering his adulterous wife and her lover—was a multi-platinum blockbuster that cemented his status as an outlaw icon. Accompanied by little more than guitar, harmonica, and saloon piano, Nelson’s reedy, remorseful howl gives fiery intensity to the mysterious, murderous stranger “with eyes like thunder." Recurrent motifs hold the loose narrative together, while the hypnotic ballads stand alone among Nelson’s most enduring songs (“Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” “Red Headed Stranger,” and “Can I Sleep In Your Arms”).

Customer Reviews I couldn't disagree more with the review. by rawnbinit This is classic, and not at all as hard to listen to as the above review would lead you to believe. I still love to listen to it. But then again, I love Willie and Texas. Oh, iTunes... two versions by JRANCH My father use to make me listen to this tape everyday after school riding around working.I hated it until one day he let me read the story on the inside of the tape case.My mind exploded ever since then(1992) this has been my go to album,tells a great story and the album is so simple its great.If I could have just one album this would be it Biography Born: April 29, 1933 in Abbott, TX Genre: Country Years Active: '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s As a songwriter and a performer, Willie Nelson played a vital role in post-rock & roll country music.

Although he didn't become a star until the mid-'70s, Nelson spent the '60s writing songs that became hits for stars like Ray Price ("Night Life"), Patsy Cline ("Crazy"), Faron Young ("Hello Walls"), and Billy Walker ("Funny How Time Slips Away") as well as releasing a series of records on Liberty and RCA that earned him a small but devoted cult following. During the early '70s, Willie aligned himself... Top Albums and Songs by Willie Nelson 1. Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger Red Headed Stranger Weeks Charted: 43 Certified 2x Platinum: 11/21/86 When Teddy Roosevelt claimed loneliness is a quintessential ingredient of our national character, he hit the psychic bull's-eye, ringing up images of pragmatic pioneers, existential outlaws and a long line of heroes who dreamt of the purity of their youth even as they drew their guns to eliminate it.

"There are no second acts in American lives," someone once said, and a cursory glance at our gods -- the cowboy/desperado, the gangster/detective, the movie star/rock & roller -- whose lifestyles generally suggest either early and unnatural death or obsolescence, easily reinforces such a statement. To the quiet American, violence, like the perpetual but unreal motion of life on the road, seems to serve as solicitous coin in the realm of the solitary survivor, some kind of necessary stop-gap and occupation while a man waits in the sanctified state of loneliness for something to happen, someone to come along or return, his vague search to end. From Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid to Dirty Harry Callahan, the mythic American hero is a man, almost always womanless, who has somehow been trapped in that curious nether world between comic innocence and tragic experience; unable or unwilling to make a choice, he can at best (or worst) embrace either adjective, neither noun. He has known happiness once, lost it, and now nothing will help.

for the sentimental there is Christianity, the "official" solace, itself an uncanny mixture of loneliness and death, its hero a lost and forsaken son slain only to rise again with the promise of a glorious but distant new childhood in exchange for a worn out, hopeless past. It is small wonder that most Americans worship no god except their own lost innocence, have had, in fact, to rely on popular literature, films and music to provide plausible and workable archetypal "religion," that is more Jungian and Freudian. Original album advertising art. Click image for larger view. Veteran country singer/songwriter Willie Nelson knows all of this -- and much more. His Red Headed Stranger is extraordinarily ambitious, cool, tightly controlled. A phonographic Western movie which brilliantly evokes the mythopoeic imagery of McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Shane and the works of John Ford, the album traces the life of a Montana cowboy who finds his true love with another man, kills both of them and later another woman, then drifts through Denver dance halls into old age, forever unable to cut his early loss but managing in the final years of his life a moving, believable and not unwarranted synthesis of all he has missed.

The narrative may not sound especially promising or unusual -- like most fables, it is, after all, the same old story: "That is its point -- but in Nelson's hands, its hard-won simplicity calls forth the same complex and profound metaphysical responses as those brought about by the matter-of-fact awesomeness of the Rocky Mountains. Hemingway, who perfected an art of sharp outlines and clipped phrases, used to say that the full power of his composition was accessible only between the lines; and Nelson, on this LP, ties precise, evocative lyrics to not quite remembered, never really forgotten folk melodies to creat a similar effect, haunting yet utterly unsentimental. That he did not write much of the material makes his accomplishment no less singular. Red Headed Stranger, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid soundtrack, is concerned with great universals; its heroic songs, somewhat reminiscent in mood of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" and the magnificent instrumental anthems (particularly "Final Theme") of the latter album, seem both vulnerable and inevitable, strapped to the lifeline, equally suitable for weddings or funerals.

"It was a time of the Preacher," Stranger begins, and with this life-and-death invocation, the once Edenic West becomes a land populated by fallen innocents ("My eyes filled with tears and I must have aged ten years/ I couldn't believe it was true") who deal out Biblical revenge ("Now the lesson is over and the killin's begun") less in anger than in a state of agonized confusion: Don't cross him, don't boss him He's wild in his sorrow Ridin' and hidin' his pain Don't fight him, don't spite him Just wait till tomorrow Maybe he'll ride on again. When the killing comes, it is quick, hypnotic and terrible in its finality ("And they smiled at each other as he walked through the door/ And they died with their smiles on their faces"), the belligerent bullets almost an afterthought, transient, symptomatic explosions in a field of loneliness ("He bought her a drink and gave her some money/ He just didn't seem to care/... He shot her so quickly they had no time to warn her").

The stranger has reached the penultimate point in his journey, but with omniscient irony the century rolls on: It was the time of the preacher In the year of '01 And just when you think it's all over It's only begun. On side two, cyclic catharsis begins, its inception again ironic. The wanderer enters a tavern, is drawn to a woman, but this time the lovers dance "with their smiles on their faces." "Can I sleep in your arms tonight, lady?" the cowboy asks, adding "I assure you I'll do you no harm." Life's verities seem ambiguous ("It's the same old song -- it's right and it's wrong/ And livin' is just something I do") as the hero ages. Stranger ends with an image reminiscent of the final tableau of Bergman's Wild Strawberries : Time, memory and expectations have magically fused, transitory people have somehow become luminous legends, happiness has been found. And in the shade of an oak down by the river Sat an old man and a boy Settin' sails, spinnin' tales and fishin' for whales With a lady they both enjoy. I can't remember when a record has taken such a hold on me.

- Paul Nelson, 8/28/75. Bonus Reviews! This might be called a concept album, or even a message album. Frankly, we haven't figured it out yet. But it's Willie Nelson, and it's listenable, and it includes some old favorites. He begins with his "Time of the Preacher," then segues into an old Eddy Arnold/Walty Fowler tune, back to the "Preacher," a medley of the title song and "Blue Rock Montana," then a Fred Rose favorite, then back to the "Red Headed Stranger," back to the "Preacher," a religious instrumental, a song called "Denver," a couple old instrumentals including a waltz and "Down Yonder," then the Hank Cochran song written for Jeannie Seeley, and an old T. Texas Tyler tune. Now it's all good, but we lost the continuity somewhere. - Billboard, 1975. When this album came out I compared it -- favorably -- to the Bible. Nelson surpassed himself with this masterpiece. It's all been downhill for him since, but who wouldn't mind having done what I still think is the only "concept" album in popular music that has worked?

- Chet Flippo, Rolling Stone, 12/15/77. This tale of a murdering preacher wild in his abandonment has inspired much loose talk about violence and Western myth. Ed Ward argues that the Stranger is a fantasy of vengeance rejected on side two, but all I hear is that he's redeemed by another woman there -- if she leaves him, he'll kill her too. Some of the individual pieces are quite nice, but the gestalt is the concept album at its most counterproductive -- the lyrics render the nostalgic instrumental parts unnecessarily ironic and lose additional charm in narrative context. B- - Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide, 1981. Recorded in Texas, Nelson's sparsely produced concept album about the old West subverted the old ways in Nashville and made country converts of hippies everywhere. In fact, it did more than that, as "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" became one of the unlikeliest Top 40 hits in pop music history. - Dan Cooper, The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995.

Fire one up and listen as this laid-back cowboy spins a remarkable, threadbare tale of love, loss and murder on a true concept album about a preacher who kills his wife and goes on the run. Supporters spread the gospel that it's just a quintessential outlaw recording but perhaps the greatest country album ever with a spare style that changed the way C&W was played. Considered daring in '75, it's as real as it comes today. * * * * * - Zagat Survey Music Guide - 1,000 Top Albums of All Time, 2003. Newly signed to Columbia, Nelson was feeling ambitious. "It was the first time I had 'artistic control,'" he recalled. "So I thought I would just start writing." Nelson had penned the song "Red Headed Stranger" years before; on a drive back to Austin after a Colorado ski trip, he fleshed out the yarn -- his wife, Connie, writing down the lyrics as they came out of his mouth. He kept the arrangements extremely spare, in sharp contrast to the gussied-up music coming out of Nashville at the time.

The songs locked together to tell a tale of murder and infidelity, and the concept album became one of Nashville's biggest hits. Read Headed Stranger was chosen as the 184th greatest album of all time by the editors of Rolling Stone Rolling Stone, 12/11/03. While Nelson had enjoyed considerable success as a songwriter, penning such country staples as "Crazy," "Family Bible" and "Hello, Walls," he was still starved of recognition as a recording artist. This all changed in 1975 with the release of Red Headed Stranger. As one of the leading voices of the Outlaw movement, he took that group's ethos of independent self-determination in recording to produce an album of sparse acoustic songs in a manner that would perhaps now be termed "Unplugged." Red Headed Stranger achieved critical and commercial success, the album becoming Nelson's biggest seller so far and scoring his first country Number One with "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain," also acknowledged in that year's Grammy awards as the Best Country Vocal Performance (Male).

Not only did the album enable Nelson to find his own artistic voice, he also raised the bar for country music, giving the genre a voice that could be heard beyond the hitherto back-waters of Nashville. As of 2004, was the #95 best-selling album of the 70s. - Hamish Champ, The 100 Best-Selling Albums of the 70s, 2004. By 1975, Willie Nelson had released some very fine albums, and he had penned great country songs for other artists, including Patsy Cline's "Crazy" and Faron Young's "Hello Walls." But it was Red Headed Stranger that made Nelson a country superstar. Further reading on Executives at his new label, Columbia, were understandably nervous about the LP's prospects. At a time when hit country records were lush with strings, the instrumentation of Stranger was simple -- acoustic guitar, piano, and harmonica. It was also something of a formal experiment, a loose concept album about a lovelorn murderer's adventures.

Nelson used the narrative of the Old West to stitch together his own tunes and a handful of covers while, on the back of the sleeve, Monica White drew a series of striking cartoon panels that told the story, sort of. The suits at Columbia need not have worried. The album sold enormously and yielded his first No. 1 single, a quietly intense version of "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain," an old Fred Rose song that became one of Nelson's signature tunes. Moreover, Red Headed Stranger a compilation of music by Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and others that gave its name to an important back-to-basics movement. The significance of Outlaw country remains a subject of debate, but it's certainly the case that with Red Headed Stranger, Nelson released an album that shrugged off the strictures of Nashville. It also defined a career. - Kenneth Burns, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, 2005.

When Columbia Records signed Willie Nelson in 1974, the label thought it was in business with a proven commercial-country hit-maker, the author of Patsy Cline's "Crazy" and Faron Young's "Hello Walls." The executives had no idea this restless spirit, then associated with the ascendant "outlaw" wing of country, would immediately take advantage of the terms of his contract: As Nelson recalled, "It was the first time that I had quote artistic control end quote." His response: a twisted tale of a troubled preacher who murders his wife and her new lover, then hits the road. The songs are short, seemingly disconnected drifter laments arranged into a ragtag travelogue. Often a single guitar provides the only accompaniment to Nelson's grandfatherly warble, and the "story" sometimes gets lost inside the character sketches. In the liner notes of the 2000 expanded edition, Nelson remembers the label as being "shocked" by this unconventional album, and then-president Bruce Lundvall concurs. At the time, Lundvall told label staffers "it may not be an important commercial album by Willie" but predicted it would become a significant part of the singer and songwriter's legacy.

Red Headed Stranger confounded those sales projections. It sold three million copies and established Nelson as a uniquely uncompromising crossover figure in country music, one of the few capable of massaging its enduring myths into newly compelling naratives. The album's interpretations of vintage songs sparkle like gold dust, while Nelson's connective-tissue originals, particularly "Time of the Preacher," update Hank Williams with a shot of wry. The expanded edition includes four eyebrow-raising tracks, including a dusty cover of Williams's "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)" and Nelson's reworking of Bach's Minuet in G as, of all things, a ragged country waltz. Why this bit of delirium was snipped from the original remains a mystery. - Tom Moon, 1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die, 2008.

Willie Nelson performs at Harrah’s | Club LuckWillie Nelson performs at Harrah's - Club Luck Club Luck admin — September 23, 2010 — Leave a comment While Willie Nelson has been involved in the music business since the mid-’50s, he was mainly known as a songwriter and Austin, Texas, regional performer until the early ‘70s. Oh, Nashville knew about his calibre of songwriting through his “Hello Walls” for Faron Young and “Crazy” for Patsy Cline, but they weren’t into his singing style nor the cut of his jib. They sent him packing when he first tried breaking into that town as a singer. No, he didn’t have the long hair and grizzly look back then—but he did have the “attitude.” It was 1975, when Nelson took his “attitude” and singing style to the nation through his breakthrough album, Red Headed Stranger. The album became one of country’s most unlikely hits. The acoustic concept album vaulted Nelson to country’s top ranks, much to the surprise (and chagrin?) of Music Row.

Nelson’s convention-busting stardom, combined with the concurrent popularity of maverick Waylon Jennings, prompted journalist Hazel Smith to dub the trend “Outlaw Music”—and a movement was underway. Nelson and Jennings obliged and released Wanted: The Outlaws with its driving hit “Good Hearted Woman”.” This album quickly became the best selling album country had ever seen. A fixture on the singles charts over the next several years, Nelson’s star rose even further with the 1978 releases Waylon & Willie and Stardust. The former included “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys,” while the latter, further exhibited Nelson’s ability to defy expectations through his treatment of pop standards by composers such as Carmichael, Berlin, Ellington and Gershwin. Stardust became the most successful of Nelson’s career to date, reaching No. 1 on the country chart (they didn’t know exactly where to put this album so they went with Nelson’s identity as a country singer), earning multi-platinum sales awards and a Grammy. It also showed that here was a stylist along the lines of Ray Charles. That is, here was a singer who could take any material—country, pop, blues—and make it his.

Nelson’s stardom soon translated to another medium with roles in feature films including The Electric Horseman, Honeysuckle Rose, Stagecoach and many more. All the while, the hits kept coming. After scoring another huge hit with “On The Road Again” in 1981 and “Always On My Mind” in 1982, Willie Nelson began his “duet” circuit singing with everybody from Dolly Parton and Merle Haggard to Ray Charles and Latin pop singer Julio Iglesias (“To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” becoming another huge hit). Nelson enlisted Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash for the Highwaymen album, released in 1985. That same year, he founded Farm Aid, an organization dedicated to championing the cause of family farms. Farm Aid’s annual televised concert raises funds. Celebrating the 25th anniversary, the organization has raised more than $37 million and continues to promote the family farm. The 1990s brought more success and Nelson’s biggest challenge.

A $16.7 million bill from the IRS forced Nelson to sell many of his assets, including several homes, and resulted in the release of The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories. Of his troubles with the IRS, Nelson told one interviewer, “I think it’s funny that a cotton-picker from Texas owes the government $16.7 million dollars.” Nelson cleared the debt by 1993 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame that same year. But making musical history is nothing new to Willie Nelson. The well-worn lines on his face hold stories of a well-traveled man, with eyes that reveal the boy inside who will never grow up. A few years ago, Nelson came out with a book called The Tao of Willie in which he relates his journey of bumps and scrapes, forks in the road, detours, disastrous twists and hairpin turns—from swimming against the currents of a whiskey river to the Zen-like figure of a man who’s comfortable in his own skin.

“The ways my life has changed seem pretty amazing to me, for somewhere along the way, the freckle-faced, dirt-eating kid from Abbott, Texas, ended up being a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather with a family, friends, and work I wouldn’t trade for anything on earth,” states Nelson. “By hook or by crook, I seem to have stumbled onto something all of us search for in this great mystery of life. “Some would call it happiness, but I like to think that what I found is me. That sounds simple enough, but the truth is, it took quite a while to do it.” If music is his mantra, then music it is. And Willie Nelson continues to release albums. His latest (released last spring) is a return to basics, both in style and title. Called Country Music, Nelson worked with record producer T Bone Burnett to dip into the country music songbook to record fresh versions of timeless classics. “I’ve known T Bone for years, but never worked with him before,” Nelson stated.

“He sent me a list of 28 songs he’d thought about for this album and I added ‘Nobody’s Fault But Mine.’ We recorded 23 and picked 15 out of that to release. “You hear all kinds of ideas about country music—this is country, or this is, or that was and this ain’t. And it’s all a matter of opinion. But in my opinion, this is the original country music. So I’m really excited for people to hear it.” Appropriately, Country Music was recorded in Nashville with an A-list band picked by Burnett. “The best people around,” Nelson said of the group that included Ronnie McCoury on mandolin, Jim Lauderdale on the background vocals and Buddy Miller on electric guitar. “There is a great feeling of freedom when you sit in a studio surrounded by seven, eight, ten musicians and producers and engineers who are the best there are and you’re playing good songs,” said Nelson. “Naturally, I feel fairly confident in that situation. It doesn’t matter where I look and point, I know whether it’s the steel or the fiddle or the mandolin, I’m going to get a great solo from those guys because they play treat all the time.

“I believe in first takes, definitely second or third takes. Anything longer than that I think you’re wasting your time. If a guy knows the material and the band knows the song and you do it three times then everyone should be satisfied.” So how many more “takes” is Willie Nelson going to perform before he’s satisfied enough to call it quits? The 77-year old Nelson invariably replies with a smile, “All I do is play music and golf — which one do you want me to give up?” Willie Nelson: One Hell of a Ride Album Review | Pitchfork Rock April 4 2008 Taking in the full half-century breadth of the country legend's career, this 4xCD, 100-track set reminds us why you just don't say no to the red-headed stranger. Next to Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson is arguably the most anthologized artist in country music history. Even before 1975, when The Red Headed Stranger made icons of his braids and beard, Nelson had already toiled as a songwriter and performer for more than 20 years, long enough to release his first greatest hits compilation just a few years before his greatest hit.

In the 30-plus years since that benchmark album, Nelson has interspersed his prolific new recordings (often two full albums a year) with a steady stream of hits repackagings. Most of his recent albums have consisted of new recordings of old material, which reinforces the impression of an artist constantly taking stock of his career, his life, and his legacy. It seems strange that with so many compilations on the market, so few of them even attempt to take in the full half-century breadth of Nelson's career. Granted, capturing such a wide-ranging, musically omnivorous artist in a limited space is always a daunting task, especially when affordability is a concern. In 1995, Willie released the 3xCD Revolutions of Time: The Journey 1975-1993, whose subtitle is revealing: Far from comprehensive, the set ignores his pre-Stranger output, including early hits like "Shotgun Willie", "Crazy", and "Bloody Mary Morning", in order to document his post-fame highlights.

Two more recent retrospectives, the 41-track Essential Willie Nelson in 2003 and the 20-track Songs in 2005, take a wider view of Nelson's canon, but are necessarily hampered by their cursory tracklists. In Nelson's case, quantity ensures quality, which means that One Hell of a Ride is so far the best Willie retrospective by simple virtue of its size. Across 100 tracks on four CDs, the handsomely packaged set, which commemorates Nelson's 75th birthday, traces his career from his first known recording in 1954 to one of his most recent tracks in 2007. That they're both the same composition-- "When I've Sang My Last Hillbilly Song"-- provides a nice symmetry, bookending all the hillbilly songs that came in between.

One Hell of a Ride culls a full disc from Nelson's work in the 1950s, 60s, and early 70s, representing early albums like ...And Then I Wrote and Texas in My Soul, which are sadly out of print, as well as slightly more popular releases like Shotgun Willie and Phases & Stages (reissued in 2006 as The Complete Atlantic Sessions). After Willie released Stranger, the various labels he had recorded for began cleaning out the vaults, repackaging his older hits and selling them to new fans, and this set draws liberally from some of these reissues: three tracks from Willie-- Before His Time, a 1977 release of tracks from the previous decade (remixed by Waylon Jennings); one each from 1980's Minstrel Man and 1984's Don't You Ever Get Tired; and two from his All Time Greatest Hits Vol. 1. By comparison, Stranger itself gets only one track, Stardust two. This is significant. Nelson lives and dies by the song, whether he wrote it himself or is just covering it.

With compositions like "Crazy", "Sad Songs and Waltzes", "Bloody Mary Morning", "Too Sick to Pray", and many others, One Hell of a Ride showcases Nelson's unparalleled songwriting skills, but with covers of compositions by Jimmy Cliff, Hoagy Carmichael, Bob Wills, Paul Simon, Fred Neil, and the Muppets, the set highlights his intuitive interpretive skills. Despite the decades in between, the leathery texture of his voice is immediately recognizable on the first disc as it is on the final disc, as idiosyncratic as Cash's grave baritone or Elvis Presley's full-bodied croon, and his behind-the-beat cadence, which draws from jazz and gospel as heavily as from country, makes every performance singular. In tandem with taking stock of his well-known hits like "Whiskey River", "Night Life", and "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain", One Hell of a Ride pays particular attention to Nelson's many collaborations, the number of which suggests he might have been contractually obligated to sing with anyone who stepped within the Nashville city limits. The second disc kicks off with the first of five duets with Waylon Jennings, "Good Hearted Woman", from Wanted!

The Outlaws, which not only helped popularize outlaw country but was for many years the best-selling country album ever. But the collaborators on One Hell of a Ride are admirably diverse: old timers like the Highwaymen (Cash, Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson) and Rays Price and Charles rub elbows with Lee Ann Womack, Leon Russell, Daniel Lanois, and even Julio Iglesias, on the gloriously cheesy "To All the Girls I've Loved Before". This emphasis on his friends means the third and fourth discs nearly lose Willie in the crowd, but it barely matters. One Hell of a Ride is perhaps the first Willie retrospective to portray him not simply as the famous long-haired singer-songwriter who penned hits and dodged the IRS, but as something more complex: an American artist who spent decades struggling in the country music industry, then spent decades redefining it. Red Headed Stranger : definition of Red Headed Stranger and synonyms of Red Headed Stranger (English) "Remember Me" Released: 1976 Red Headed Stranger is a 1975 album by American outlaw country singer Willie Nelson .

After the wide success of his recordings with Atlantic records , Nelson signed a contract with Columbia Records , a label that gave him total creative control over his works. The concept for the album was inspired by the Tale of the Red Headed Stranger, a song that Nelson used to play as a disk jockey on his program in Fort Worth, Texas . After signing with Columbia he decided to record the song, and arranged the details during his return to Austin, Texas , from a trip to Colorado. It was recorded at low cost in a studio in Garland, Texas . The songs featured sparse arrangements, largely limited to Nelson's guitar, piano and drums. Nelson presented the finished material to Columbia executives, who were dubious about releasing an album that they at first thought was a demo . However, Nelson had creative control, so no further production was added. A concept album , Red Headed Stranger is about a fugitive on the run from the law after killing his wife and her lover. The content consists of songs with brief poetic lyrics and arrangements of older material such as Fred Rose 's " Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain ", Wolfe Gilbert 's " Down Yonder " and Juventino Rosas ' " O'er the Waves ".

Despite Columbia's doubts and the limited instrumentation, Red Headed Stranger was a blockbuster among country music and mainstream audiences. It was certified multi- platinum , and made Nelson one of the most recognized artists in country music. The cover of "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain", released as a single previous to the album full release became Nelson's first number one hit. The title of the album would become a lasting nickname for Nelson. It was ranked #184 on Rolling Stone 's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time , and number one on CMT 's 40 Greatest Albums in Country Music. In 2010 it was inducted to the National Recording Registry . In 1986 Nelson starred as the Red Headed Stranger in a movie of the same name , based on the story of the album.

The album has had a strong cultural impact; the song "Time of the Preacher" has been used often in the series Edge of Darkness , and its lyrics were used as well in the first issue of the comic Preacher Contents 7 References Background and recording In 1973 Nelson signed a contract for US$25,000 per year with Atlantic Records , the first country artist signed by the label. [1] His first album with Atlantic was the critically acclaimed Shotgun Willie , [2] which was followed by Phases and Stages . [3] Due to the success of these recordings, Nelson signed with Columbia Records , and was given complete creative control. [4] The album is based on the song "Red Headed Stranger". Nelson often received requests to play the song when he was a DJ in Fort Worth, Texas , where he hosted a show for children. Nelson was inspired to write a complete story that included details of events prior to the ones described in Red Headed Stranger. [5] [6] Nelson wrote the songs during his return to Austin, Texas , after a ski trip in Colorado. Nelson spontaneously composed the songs while his then-wife Connie Koepke wrote down the lyrics.

[7] The recording took place in a studio in Garland, Texas , [8] at a cost of US$20,000. [9] Nelson featured arrangements of acoustic guitar, accompanied by piano, played by his sister, Bobbie, [10] as well complementary arrangements of drums, harmonica and mandolin. [11] The sparsely instrumented acoustic arrangements caused Columbia directors to doubt the wisdom of releasing the album as presented, feeling it was under-produced and no more than a demo . [8] However, Nelson had complete creative control, and it was released without any further modifications. [9] Concept The album's title song marks the start of the journey of the fugitive husband, and his second murder. Problems listening to these files? See media help . The story begins with "Time of the Preacher", where the character evokes his love for his wife, whom he suspects is unfaithful. In the following song, "I Couldn't Believe It Was True", the infidelity is revealed. This leads to a short version of "Time of the Preacher," wherein the singer ends with the line "Now the lesson is over, and the killing's begun".

The reaction of the husband is depicted by Nelson in a medley of "Blue Rock, Montana" and "Red Headed Stranger". The first song describes the double murder of the unfaithful woman and her lover by the Stranger, who states "And they died with a smile on their faces." This leads to the second song of the medley, which describes the grief of the Stranger. [12] This section is followed by Nelson's cover of the 1947 Fred Rose , song " Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain ", where the fugitive laments the loss of his wife. In "Red Headed Stranger," the protagonist commits a subsequent murder—he kills a woman he believes is stealing his horse. The horse, to which he undoubtedly holds a sentimental attachment, had belonged to the Stranger's wife. [13] The story continues with the Stranger traveling south. In the song "Denver," the character falls in love with a woman he meets in a bar in town. One of the lines from "Blue Rock Montana" is repeated, with a variation: "And they danced with a smile on their faces". The following song, "Can I Sleep in Your Arms?", shows the desire of the Stranger for redemption and love.

Next is "Remember Me", where he announces that his vows to his deceased wife are broken and he is free to love. The story ends with "Hands on the Wheel", which depicts the Stranger as an old man who is accompanied by a child, allegedly his grandson, and his new love. The song marks the end of the sorrow of the Stranger, and his redemption years later. The album ends with the instrumental song "Bandera". [12] Reception Chart performance and critical reception Red Headed Stranger reached number one on the Billboard chart for Top Country Albums , [14] and number twenty-eight for forty-three weeks in Top LPs & Tapes . [15] On March 11, 1976, it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America , and on November 21, 1986, it was certified double-platinum. [16] Professional ratings [24] Rolling Stone writer Paul Nelson wrote: "Red Headed Stranger is extraordinarily ambitious, cool, tightly controlled....

Hemingway, who perfected an art of sharp outlines and clipped phrases, used to say that the full power of his composition was accessible only between the lines; and Nelson, on this LP, ties precise, evocative lyrics to not quite remembered, never really forgotten folk melodies to create a similar effect, haunting yet utterly unsentimental. That he did not write much of the material makes his accomplishment no less singular." [17] Meanwhile, critic Robert Christgau wrote, "Some of the individual pieces are quite nice, but the gestalt is the concept album at its most counterproductive—the lyrics render the nostalgic instrumental parts unnecessarily ironic and lose additional charm in narrative context." [19] Music critic Chet Flippo wrote in a Texas Monthly article entitled "Mathew, Mark, Luke and Willie: Willie Nelson's latest album is more than a good country music; it's almost Gospel": "The difference between Nelson's Red Headed Stranger and any current C&W album, and especially what passes for a soundtrack for Nashville, is astounding. What Nelson has done is simply unclassifiable; it is the only record I have heard that strikes me as otherworldly.

Red Headed Stranger conjures up such strange emotions and works on so many levels that listening to it becomes totally obsessing". [18] Billboard described the album as "lots of instrumental work, with particularly fine piano by Bobbie Nelson, and the usual highly stylized Willie Nelson vocals". [25] Mother Jones wrote: "Texans have known for 15 years what Red Headed Stranger finally revealed to the world – that Nelson is simply too brilliant a songwriter, interpreter, and singer – just too damn universal – to be defined as merely a country artist". [20] In 1996 CMJ New Music Monthly wrote: "His Red Headed Stranger was the Sgt. Pepper's of country music, the first record to follow a coherent theme instead of merely compiling radio singles". [23] Allmusic described Red Headed Stranger as "really elusive, as the themes get a little muddled and the tunes themselves are a bit bare. It's undoubtedly distinctive – and it sounds more distinctive with each passing year – but it's strictly an intellectual triumph and, after a pair of albums that were musically and intellectually sound, it's a bit of a letdown, no matter how successful it was".

[21] In 2003 it was included among the top 1,000 albums of Zagat Survey magazine, and was rated five stars out of five. The magazine wrote, "Supporters (of the album) spread the gospel that it's just a quintessential outlaw recording, but perhaps the greatest country album ever with a spare style that changed the way C&W was played". [22] Sputnikmusic wrote: "The Red Headed Stranger is simple and bare. Following the story of a preacher man that kills his cheating wife and her lover, ol' Willie spins the tale with a laid back nonchalance that just seems to ooze out of him, his aching chords and somber melodies encapsulating the futility and pain of his character's situation [...] The Red Headed Stranger is timeless. Willie Nelson's captivating story telling, and the minimalist majesty of his music fills a well worn grove in the hearts of those that enjoy the folk roots of the United States." [24] Red Headed Stranger's critical success cemented Nelson's outlaw image , [26] and made him one of the most recognized artists in country music.

The title of the album became a long lasting nickname for him. [27] The cover of Fred Rose 's 1945 song " Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain ", that had been released as a single previous to the album, became his first number one hit as a singer. [28] In 2004 the album was ranked at number 184 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time , [7] and number one in CMT 's 40 Greatest Albums in Country Music in 2006. [14] In 2009 it was adopted into the National Recording Registry because Red Headed Stranger is "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or informs or reflects life in the United States." [29] Movie Main article: Red Headed Stranger (film) At an appearance at the Armadillo World Headquarters , a music venue in Austin, Texas , Nelson met publisher and screenwriter William D. Wittliff . Because of the success of the album, Wittliff decided to write a script for Nelson based on the story of the Red Headed Stranger.

In 1979 Wittliff finished a draft of the project, which was turned over to Universal Studios . The studio budgeted the film at $14 million and sent the script to Robert Redford , who turned it down. The movie project was tabled, and Wittliff and Nelson had to buy the script back from Universal. The script then went to HBO , who assigned the project a budget of $5 million, but this project was not completed either. Finally, Nelson and Wittliff decided to finance the film themselves. Nelson portrayed the role of the stranger, and the movie was released in 1986. [30] In popular culture The first track, "Time of the Preacher", was used in episodes of the 1985 television drama Edge of Darkness . [31] The lyrics to "Time of the Preacher" were used in the opening pages of the first issue of the Vertigo comic book Preacher . [32] The complete album was performed and recorded by Carla Bozulich in 2003. The Red Headed Stranger included a guest appearance by Nelson. [33] A first season episode of the dramedy series Monk is entitled " Mr.

Monk and the Red-Headed Stranger ," and guest-stars Willie Nelson. [34] Track listing

Question: Which singer has been known as 'The Red-Headed Stranger' since his 1975 album of that name?
Answer: WILLIE NELSON